Pope Francis celebrates Mass to mark World Day of the Poor, Nov. 15, 2020. (Vatican Media)
By Vatican News
Oct 23 2021
The highlight of the liturgical celebrations of Pope Francis in the month of November is the World Day of the Poor, instituted by him 5 years ago.
The Master of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, Mons. Diego Giovanni Ravelli, on Friday released the schedule of the celebrations of Pope Francis for the month of November. There are 3 main liturgical celebrations of the Holy Father for the coming month:
– Nov. 04: Holy Mass at 11:00 am in St. Peter’s Basilica for the souls of the cardinals and bishops who died during the course of the past year.
– Nov. 05: Holy Mass at 10:30 am at the Sacred Heart Catholic University of Rome.
– Nov. 14: Holy Mass at 10:00 am in St. Peter’s Basilica on the occasion of the 5th World Day of the Poor of the Catholic Church.
‘A Church of the poor, for the poor’ has been a salient feature of the pontificate of Pope Francis. This is why he instituted the World Day of the Poor in 2016, at the conclusion of the Jubilee of Mercy. The theme chosen by Pope Francis for this year’s celebration is, “The poor you will always have with you” (Mk 14:7), the words of Jesus at the house of Simon the leper.
In a message for this year’s observance, the Pope hoped that the annual day “will grow in our local Churches and inspire a movement of evangelization that meets the poor personally wherever they may be”. “We cannot wait for the poor to knock on our door; we need urgently to reach them in their homes, in hospitals and nursing homes, on the streets and in the dark corners where they sometimes hide, in shelters and reception centres,” he wrote.
The Pope’s visit to the Sacred Heart Catholic University of Rome, which is Agostino Gemelli Hospital, is to mark 60 years of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. The upcoming visit will be his first since his surgery there in July. Admitted to the hospital on July 4, he underwent a scheduled colon surgery that evening. He was discharged 9 days later on July 14. – Vatican News
